Lesser Loon and Wood Ibis in Utah
Lesser Loon and Wood Ibis in Utah
On August 14, 1939, I found a dead loon on U. S. Highway 91, 6 miles north of Scipio, Juab County, Utah. It was so badly decomposed that I was unable to determine the cause of its death. Tbe fact that the large Sevier Bridge Reservoir is within two miles of this spot suggests the possibility that the bird was wounded there and flew to the road before death. The wing that was saved is 350 mm. long and identifies the bird as the Lesser Loon (Gavia immer elasson). Hayward (Wilson Bull., vol. 49, 1937, p. 304) mentions three other records of this loon in Utah.
On August 28, 1939, I collected a male Wood Ibis (Mycteria americana) at Virgin City, Washington County, Utah. It was walking about on a sandbar in the Virgin River, and was the only one seen. This is the first record of the Wood Ibis for southern Utah, but there are several records from the northern part of the State. Hayward (loc. cit.) mentions three records. C. W. Lockerbie, of Salt Lake City, has seen Wood Ibises on three occasions in the Salt Lake area. The ibis and the wing of the loon are now in the museum of the University of Utah.
W. S. Long
Soil Conservation Service, Salt Lake Cily, Utah, November 28, 1939
